The Warriors held an emotional and physically challenging training session when they returned to Bethells Beach for the first time since the disappearance there of former teammate Sonny Fai.

The team under new coach Matt Elliott went through a gruelling session running up the monster sand dunes by the West Auckland beach, but before they did the squad came together to remember and pay their respects to Fai.

It was an emotional experience for all involved and Warriors legend Ruben Wiki, now the club's conditioning coach, was given the honour of saying a few words and leading the prayer.

"We haven't been back since 2009, since the incident happened," Wiki told Sunday News.

"Matty wanted me to express to the boys that we needed to celebrate Sonny's life and not being afraid to come back to where he was last seen.

"So I just brought the boys together before we had a tough session on the sand dunes and we wanted to embrace and know that Sonny would be watching.

"He would be happy to see us at Bethells Beach and would be watching over us when the boys are going through the tough times."

Hero Fai went missing around 7pm on January 4, 2009, after being caught in a rip current while saving his brother and four cousins when they got into difficulty.